Method of pitting peaches



Sept. 3, 1963 H. M. HAIT METHOD OF PITTING PEACHES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 9, 1959 JAMES M. HAIT INVENTOR ATTORNEY Sept. 3, 1963 H. M. HAlT 3,102,568

METHOD OF PITTING PEACHES Original Filed Feb. 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JAMES M. HAIT BY V ATTORNEY United States Patent 7 Claims. (Cl. 146-238) The present application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 792,210, filed February 9, 1959.

This invention pertains to the processing of fruit and more particularly relates to a method of pitting peaches.

In one method of pitting peaches, each peach is bisected by means of blades having serrated edges which penetrate the peach and grip the pit. While the pit is held in fixed position, twisting heads engage the peach halves and twist the halves in opposite directions to free them from the pit. To be commercially successful, peach pitting machines of this type must be capable of completely and accurately removing pits and, at the same time, they must be relatively simple in construction so that a minimum of maintenance and adjustment is required during operation.

'It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of pitting peaches.

Another object is to provide an improved method of presenting peach halves to the twisting heads of a twistpitting machine.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan of the pitting machine of the present invention.

*FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1. 1

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic plan of a second embodiment of the pitting machine of the present invention.

The pitting machine 10 (FIGS. 1 and t2) comprises a rotatable turret 12 having four peach-bisecting and pitgripping units 14, 15, 16 and 17 mounted at 90 degree intervals around the periphery of the turret. The turret and each pit-gripping unit thereon is intermittently moved in a clockwise direction (FIG. 1) in 90 degree increments of angular movement around the axis of the turret. At station A a peach is fed to each open pitgripping unit. As the peach is moved from station A, the pit-gripping unit closes to bisect the flesh of the peach and grip the pit. At station B, a twisting head 20 moves into engagement with one peach half and twists it off the pit which is being held in fixed position by the pit-gripping unit. The remaining peach half and the pit are then carried to an idler station C, and then to a second twisting station D where a second twisting head 22 moves into engagement with the remaining peach half and twists it from the pit. As the pit-gripping unit moves to the feed station A, the pit is released and dropped into a suitable receptacle.

It is to be particularly noted that each pit-gripping unit merely moves in a circular path during the pitting operation. It does not rotate about its own axis, and accordingly the drive mechanism is relatively simple.

The turret 12 comprises a central body portion 30 (FIG. 3) supported on and keyed to the upper end of a tubular drive shaft 32 which is intermittently driven by a motor 34 (FIG. 2) through a drive shaft 35, a Geneva 2 drive mechanism 36, and bevel gears 37 and 38. The arrangement is such that, as the drive shaft 35 is continuously rotated, the turret is intermittently indexed in 90 degree increments of angular movement to successively bring the pit-gripping units to stations A, B, C and D.

The body portion '30 of the turret has four equispaced support members 40 (FIG. 5) integrally formed thereon and projecting radially outwardly therefrom. Each support member has two spaced wing members 41 and 42, each of which has two spaced hubs 43 and 44 (FIG. 4). The two hubs 43 support a shaft 46, and the two hubs 44 support a shaft 47. A pit-gripping blade 50 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is mounted ona hub 52a of an actuator arm 52 that is secured to shaft 46 and has an inner end portion 52b that is arranged to be contacted by a push rod 54 (FIG. 3) which is slidably journalled in the associated hub 40. A blade 60, which cooperates with the blade 50 to bisect a peach to the pit and grip the pit, is mounted on a hub 62a of an actuator arm 62 which has an inner end portion 62!; arranged to be engaged by the end of said push rod 54. It will be evident that when the push rod 54 is slid radially outwardly in the support hub 40, the blades 50' and '60 will be swung to their open position. The blades are urged to their closed position by two springs 65 (FIG. 5), which are disposed on opposite sides of the support hub 40. Each spring is compressed between opposed ends oftwo bars 67 and 68 (FIG. 3), the bar 67 being disposed transversely of blade 50 and disposed in a groove 69 in said blade. The bar 68 is disposed transversely of blade 60 directly below bar 67 and is held in a groove 70 in said blade 60. When the blades '50 and *60 are pivoted to their open position, the springs 65 are compressed so that, when the pressure of the push rod 54 is released, the springs 65 will close the blades 50 and 60 to bisect a peach and move pit-gripping concave edges 71 (FIG. 3) into gripping engagement with the pit.

Each push rod 54 is moved radially outwardly of the turret 12 by a lever 74-(FIG. 3) that is pivotally mounted in spaced cars 75 (FIG. 5) formed on an inner cylindrical wall 76 of the turret 12. The lever 74 has a cam follower roller 77 which rides along the surface 78 of a cam disc 79 that is keyed to a stationary rod 80. As seen in 'FIG. 1 the cam disc 79 is so designed that each lever 75 is forced outwardly when the associated pit-gripping unit approaches feed station A. Thus, at feed station A the blades are in an open position adapted to receive a peach which may be impaled on the blades manually or by a suitable feed mechanism. During the movement of the pit-gripping unit away from station A, the springs 65 move the blades to closed position in gripping engagement with the pit. The blades continue to grip the pit until they approach the :feed station again, after the peach halves have been twisted from the pit.

The twisting heads 20 and 22 may be of any suitable type. For example, each head may comprise a rigid metal cup having a rubber lining that is provided with serrations or ridges which automatically move into gripping engagement with the outer surface of the peach half that is being twisted. Each of the heads 20 and 22 (FIG. 1) is mounted on the end of a tubular shaft that has an annular flange 86 around which a collar 87 is disposed. The flange 86 permits rotation of the collar relative to the shaft 85 'but prevents it from moving longitudinally along the shaft. Each collar 87 has a pair of oppositely projecting pins 88 that are adapted to fit into slots 89 (FIG. 2) formed in a yoke-like end portion 90a of a lever 90. Each lever 90 is pivoted on a fixed pin 91 and carries, at its lower end, a roller follower 92 that rides in a camming groove 95 of a cylindrical cam 96 which is keyed to a shaft 97. As the cam 96 rotates with the shaft 97, the lever 90 is oscillated about pivot pin 91 causing the tubular 3 cup support shaft 85 to slide along a spline shaft d toygard and away from the associated twisting station B or The cylindrical cam drive shafts 97 aredriven by the drive shaft 35 through chain and sprocket drive mechanisms i102 and 103 respectively. Since the indexing of the turret 12 and the reciprocating movement of the twisting heads are controlled from the same drive shaft 35, it is evident that these movements can be coordinated so that the twisting heads move into the twisting stations B and D when pit-gripping units are held in stationary position at these stations.

When the twisting heads 20 and 22 are disposed in engagement with peach halves held on the pit-gripping units, the heads are rotated to twist the patch halves from the pits, and this rotation of the heads is accomplished by two chain and sprocket drives 1'10 and 111 which connect the two spline shafts 100 to the driven shaft "115 of a Geneva drive mechanism 116. The Geneva driveshaft 1 17 is connected by a belt and pulley drive 119 to the continuously rotating drive shaft 35. The arrangement is such that, when the twisting heads 20 and 22 have been moved into engagement with peach halves at stations B and D, the heads are rotated to twist the peach halves tree and then the heads are withdrawn from the twisting stations to permit the turret to be indexed.

It will be understood that suitable support structure is provided for journalling and supporting the various operating parts of the machine including the spline shafts 100", the Geneva shafts 115 and '117, the cylindrical cam shafts 97 and the stationary rod 80 of the turret.

From the foregoing description it will be particularly plane that is normal to said cutting plane to position said remaining peach half on said first side of the cutting plane, and gripping said remaining peach half and twisting it free from the pit.

2. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of making a cut in a whole peach in a vertical plane to bisect the flesh of the peach to the pit, gripping the pit and holding the pit in fixed position, engaging the peach half on one side of the vertical cutting plane and twisting it from the pit,swinging the pit through 180 degrees about a ver tical axis to shift the remaining peach half from its original position on one side of said vertical cutting plane to the opposite side of said cutting plane, and gripping said remaining half and twisting it from the pit.

3. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of lbisecting the flesh of a peach along a predetermined plane, gripping'the pit and holding the pit from rotation in said plane, gripping a first half of the peach and twisting it free from the pit, advancing the peach along a path in a plane normal to said first mentioned plane, and gripping the remaining peach half and twisting it free from the pit.

4. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of bisecting the flesh of a peach along a predetermined noted that the pit-gripping blades are maintained in upright, substantially vertical position during the entire pitting operation. -Also, it should be noted that the twisting heads have a simple, straight line reciprocating movement toward and away from the twisting stations. Accordingly, the mechanisms employed to carry out these movements are simple and compact.

In FIG. 6 a second embodiment of the pitting machine for carrying out the method of the present invention is illustrated. In this machine @130, three pit-gripping blade plane, gripping the pit and holding the pit from rotation in said plane, advancing the peach along a path in a second plane normal to said first mentioned plane, gripping a first half of the peach and twisting it free from the pit, continuing advancement of the remaining peach half and the pit along said path, and gripping the remaining peach half, and twisting it free from the pit.

5. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of bisecting the flesh of a peach along a predetermined plane, gripping the pit and holding the pit from rotation in said units 13-2 are mounted in radial positions on a turret 134.

The turret is intermittently rotated in 120 degree increments to move each pit-gripping unit in a clockwise direction from a feed station X to a first twisting station Y and then to a second twisting station Z. While the turret is stationary, two twisting heads 140 and 1-42 are moved into the twisting stations Y and Z to grip the peach halves on the pit-gripping units and twist them from the pits. The heads are then retracted and the turret is again indexed to bring different peach halves to the twisting stations.

The pit-gripping units, the turret, the twisting heads and the coordinated drive mechanism may be of the same general type disclosed hereinbefore in connection with the pitting machine of FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive. It will be noted that, in this second embodiment of the pitting machine of the present invention, the pit-gripping blades are also held in a generally vertical position during the entire pitting operation and the peaches are not rotated but are carried in a single, substantially horizontal plane.

It will be recognized from the foregoing description that the method of the present invention is carried out by two simple pitting machines, each of which employs a particularly eflective mechanism for positioning peach halves in alignment with the twisting heads of a twist-pitting machine. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of plane, gripping a first half of the peach and twisting it free from the pit, advancing the peach along an arcuate path in excess of degrees in a plane normal to said first men tioned plane, and gripping the remaining peach half and twisting it free from the pit.

6. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of bisecting the flesh of a peach along a predetermined plane, gripping the pit and holding the pit from rotation in said plane, advancing the peach along an arcuate patlpof, at least 90 degrees in a second plane normal to said'ifirst mentioned plane, gripping a first half of the peach and twisting it free from the pit, continuing advancement of the remaining peach half and the pit in an arcuate path of at least degrees, and gripping the remaining peach half and twisting it free from the pit.

7. A method of pitting peaches comprising the steps of bisecting the flesh of a peach along a predetermined plane, gripping the pit and holding the pit from rotation in said plane, advancing the peach along a circular path through 120 degrees in a second plane normal to said first.v mentioned plane, gripping a first half of the peach and twisting it free from the pit, continuing advancement of the remaining peach half and the pit in said circular path through a second 120 degrees, and gripping the remaining peach half and twisting'it free from the pit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 580,563 Tott en Apr. 13, 1897 3,035,620 Drake et al. May 22, 1962 

3. A METHOD OF PITTING PEACHES COMPRISING THE STEPS OF BISECTING THE FLESH OF A PEACH ALONG A PREDETERMINED PLANE, GRIPPING THE PIT AND HOLDING THE PIT FROM ROTATION IN SAID PLANE, GRIPPING A FIRST HALF OF THE PEACH AND TWISTING IT FREE FROM THE PIT, ADVANCING THE PEACH ALONG A PATH IN A PLANE NORMAL TO SAID FIRST MENTIONED PLANE, AND GRIPPING THE REMAINING PEACH HALF AND TWISTING IT FREE FROM THE PIT. 